#08: The War on Working Capital with CFO, Bob Gold

In this episode, Dan speaks with Bob Gold, Veteran CFO and PE Specialist, about his battle-tested approach to unlocking cash and stabilising businesses: the “War on Working Capital.”

Bob breaks down how he takes day-one ownership of cash, sets up visual wallboards for AR, inventory, and AP, and drives cross-functional accountability through rapid standups. He shares lessons from 9 CFO seats across PE-backed and public companies, including why EBITDA can mislead operators, how to structure a practical 30/60/90 plan, and why the best CFOs act like operators, not bookkeepers.

Key Takeaways:

• Start with cash. Day 1 for any CFO is mapping sources and uses, tightening forecasting, and ensuring the business has liquidity before anything else.
• Run a “War on Working Capital.” Use wallboards and 30-minute standups to make AR, inventory, and AP visible, assign ownership, and enforce countermeasures.
• Build cross-functional accountability. Customer service, procurement, and payables must each own their piece of working capital. Finance can’t do it alone.
• Measure what matters. Cash flow is the most accurate KPI; EBITDA (especially adjusted EBITDA) often obscures the true health of the business.

Subscribe to the Next Exit podcast.

Check out Dan’s Private Equity-Grade Forecasting software, Kluster, here: https://www.kluster.com/

Send podcast guest pitches to: dan.thompson@kluster.com

Check out Dan’s Private Equity-Grade Forecasting software, Kluster, here: https://www.kluster.com/

Send podcast guest pitches to: dan.thompson@kluster.com